Does wage increase impact service quality? Evidence from restaurant health inspections
This paper and presentation examines whether a wage increase affects the customer service quality provided by low-wage employees and if there are any spillover effects of wage increase on service quality offered by the employers.
We use restaurant-level health inspections and leverage a large number of jurisdiction-level minimum wage changes between 2010 and 2019.
We find that wage increase reduces overall health violations and improves service quality. These results are mainly driven by decrease in employee-associated violations.
Employer-associated severe violations, that can cause adverse consumer health outcomes, increase in response to wage increase.
Speaker Profile
A/Prof Bhagyashree Katare, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
A/Prof Katare is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. Her current research interests are in the economics of food, health, nutrition, particularly on the empirical analysis of consumption behaviour related to health outcomes and wellbeing.
Her research program studies the effect of government policies, behavioural nudges, and economic interventions on individual health, education, and laboir outcomes.
Dr Katare's current work includes the effect of recent changes in governmental assistance programs and policies (minimum wage, food stamps, Medicaid) on food insecurity, food safety, and labor outcomes.
She is the Project Director for USDA-NIFA funded grant “Workplace stressors, conflict resolution, worker productivity: A field experiment on employee wellness training program in rural small businesses”, focused on healthcare access, mental health, and wellbeing of rural labor force.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact shannon.stanwell@monash.edu
Event Details
- Date:
- 20 March 2023 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Venue:
- In-person at Caulfield campus, Building H, Level 9, Room H9.02
- Categories:
- CHE Seminar; Health Economics
Description
This paper and presentation examines whether a wage increase affects the customer service quality provided by low-wage employees and if there are any spillover effects of wage increase on service quality offered by the employers.
We use restaurant-level health inspections and leverage a large number of jurisdiction-level minimum wage changes between 2010 and 2019.
We find that wage increase reduces overall health violations and improves service quality. These results are mainly driven by decrease in employee-associated violations.
Employer-associated severe violations, that can cause adverse consumer health outcomes, increase in response to wage increase.
Speaker Profile
A/Prof Bhagyashree Katare, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
A/Prof Katare is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. Her current research interests are in the economics of food, health, nutrition, particularly on the empirical analysis of consumption behaviour related to health outcomes and wellbeing.
Her research program studies the effect of government policies, behavioural nudges, and economic interventions on individual health, education, and laboir outcomes.
Dr Katare's current work includes the effect of recent changes in governmental assistance programs and policies (minimum wage, food stamps, Medicaid) on food insecurity, food safety, and labor outcomes.
She is the Project Director for USDA-NIFA funded grant “Workplace stressors, conflict resolution, worker productivity: A field experiment on employee wellness training program in rural small businesses”, focused on healthcare access, mental health, and wellbeing of rural labor force.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact shannon.stanwell@monash.edu